Buzz
In today's world of satellite imagery and advanced aircraft, charting new territories has become a relatively simple task. However, in the past, the responsibility of exploration fell to small, well-prepared groups. These explorers depended on little more than their journals, some provisions, and basic mapping tools. For months or even years, they ventured into unknown lands, documenting their findings. These journeys were fraught with danger, and many resulted in disaster.
Yet, some expeditions faced an even more eerie fate: they vanished completely without a trace. While some have been found—often many years later—others are still unaccounted for. The unexplained disappearance of Percy Fawcett, for instance, led to the death of over 100 other explorers and remains unsolved. Below are ten such expeditions that mysteriously disappeared.
10. Madoc
Long before Columbus set sail for the Americas, a Welsh prince named Madoc embarked on his own journey with ten ships, hoping to discover new lands. Madoc was the son of King Owain Gwynedd, who had 18 sons, some of them illegitimate. When King Owain passed away in 1169, a civil war erupted between the brothers over the succession. As a man of peace, Madoc gathered a group of like-minded individuals and set off to find uncharted territories. Legend has it that Madoc returned in 1171, regaling tales of his adventures, and led a second expedition, from which he never returned.
The tale, first documented in a Welsh manuscript from the 1500s, lacks many specifics, but some believe that Madoc and his crew landed near what is now Mobile, Alabama. Notably, stone forts along the Alabama River have drawn attention, as they predate Columbus's arrival. Some Cherokee tribes claim that these forts were constructed by 'White People.'
There are theories suggesting that Madoc and his followers may have merged with and been assimilated by the Mandan Native Americans. A few rumors circulate around this, including the supposed similarity between the Mandan language and Welsh. In 1799, Governor John Sevier of Tennessee reported the discovery of six skeletons encased in brass armor, bearing the Welsh coat of arms, though this could have been a hoax. If authentic, this could serve as the most concrete evidence for the fate of Madoc’s expedition, which remains otherwise unresolved.
9. Vivaldi Expedition
It is widely known that Columbus was not seeking to discover America when he left Spain; he was attempting to find Asia. Two centuries earlier, in 1291, the Vivaldi expedition had a similar objective. The brothers Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi, along with their crew, set sail from Genoa, hoping to reach India by navigating around Africa's southern tip. They packed enough provisions for ten years, anticipating a long journey. After passing through the Strait of Gibraltar in mid-1291, they were never seen again.
Several expeditions were launched to find the missing Vivaldi brothers, with the first led by Lancelotto Malocello in 1312. He sailed as far as the Canary Islands, where he built a fort and remained for over two decades without discovering any trace of the lost brothers. In the early 1300s, Ugolino's son, Sorleone, embarked on his own quest to find his missing father and uncle. Some accounts suggest he may have reached Mogadishu, yet still found no sign of them.
Another reference to the expedition appears in 1455 when the explorer Antoniotto Uso Di Mare claimed to have met a descendant of a survivor who had traveled with the Vivaldi brothers. According to him, the brothers reached as far as Senegal, where they were captured and imprisoned for the rest of their lives.
8. Abubakari Expedition
The voyage of Abu Bakr II, also known as Mansa Qu, the ruler of the Mali Empire, is shrouded in mystery. The most credible account comes from the Arab historian Shihab al-Umari, who met Mansa Musa, Abu Bakr’s heir, in Cairo during the early 1300s.
According to Mansa Musa, his father doubted the existence of an endless ocean and sent out an expedition of 200 ships, stocked with sailors, food, and gold, to find the ocean's edge. Only one ship returned. The captain claimed to have encountered a massive waterfall in the middle of the ocean, which seemed to mark the edge. His ship was at the rear of the fleet, and the others were swept into the waterfall, with the captain narrowly escaping by rowing backward. The king, unconvinced, sent out 3,000 ships for a second attempt, this time traveling with them. He made Mansa Musa regent in his place, but he never returned.
Several historians have proposed that Abu Bakr’s expedition may have reached the Americas, citing a legend among the native Taino people of Hispaniola about black individuals who arrived before Columbus, carrying weapons made from an alloy containing gold. However, others reject this theory, noting that no archaeological evidence has been found to support such a connection. One thing remains clear: Abu Bakr never returned to reclaim his kingdom.
7. Cabot’s Final Expedition
John Cabot is renowned as the first European to rediscover North America since the Vikings. His historic voyage most likely landed in Bonavista, Newfoundland, in June 1497. In a fashion reminiscent of the Moon landing, the crew briefly disembarked to plant the Papal banner and claim the land for England before returning to their ship and exploring the coast from the sea. Upon their return to England, Cabot was celebrated as a hero, receiving £10 as a reward—the equivalent of about two years' wages for an average laborer—and a pension of £20 annually.
Despite his fame, the ultimate fate of John Cabot remains unknown. Contemporary records indicate that Cabot prepared a second voyage to the New World, this time with five ships. They departed from Bristol in May 1498, carrying mostly trade goods. The final account of Cabot and his crew came from the Spanish envoy in London two months later, who reported that the fleet had encountered a storm, forcing one ship to stop in Ireland. The rest of the fleet continued onward.
It is possible that John Cabot never returned, as no records of him exist beyond his final expedition—not even a mention of his disappearance. Some believe he returned to England and lived there for years afterward. Research into his final fate continues, and this theory is partly supported by the fact that Lancelot Thirkell, one of the men originally supposed to accompany him, was living in London in 1501.
6. Franklin’s Lost Expedition
In 1845, British explorer Sir John Franklin embarked on a mission with a small team to chart the last unexplored stretch of the Northwest Passage. They set sail on the HMS Erebus and the aptly named HMS Terror, departing England in May. Their fate remained a mystery until 2014.
The disappearance sparked widespread concern in Britain, with both the public and the government mobilizing to search. In 1848, the Admiralty sent out three search parties—one by land and two by sea—but all efforts were in vain. Subsequent attempts continued until 1857 when a final search, supported by the public, was launched. By this time, the government had officially declared the entire crew lost. Thanks to conversations with the local Inuit, who had possessions of the crew, it was learned that the ships had become trapped in ice. Franklin died in 1847, and the remaining crew abandoned the ships. After spending the winter at King William Island, they began a desperate journey to find civilization, which ultimately led to the death of every man. Analysis of some bones suggested that the crew had resorted to cannibalism to survive.
The full truth was only uncovered when Canadian researchers rediscovered the HMS Terror in 2014. The ship was remarkably well-preserved—so much so that it likely would still float if the water were removed. This discovery suggests that the ship was abandoned in an organized manner, with the crew likely transferring to the HMS Erebus in an attempt to escape the icy waters, only to be trapped once more. At that point, they had no choice but to continue their journey on foot.
5. Eudoxus Of Cyzicus
The ancient world was more interconnected than we often assume. Long before the Roman Empire’s rise, the ancient Greeks were already engaging in trade with India. Though sailors from either country couldn’t complete the entire journey, they frequently met in trade ports along the coast of Yemen, where the Greeks would exchange goods for aromatics and other luxuries to bring back to Greece.
In 118 BC, an Indian sailor was shipwrecked in the Red Sea and taken to the court of Ptolemy, the Greek ruler of Egypt. With the sailor’s guidance, Greek explorer Eudoxus of Cyzicus undertook the first documented journey to sail directly from Egypt to India. He repeated the voyage in 116 BC, this time navigating without the help of Indian sailors. This was a pivotal moment in the history of Indian Ocean trade: Within a few decades, trade across the sea between Greece, Rome, and ancient India saw substantial growth.
During his second voyage, Eudoxus was blown off course and found himself navigating along the African coast. While there, he encountered a shipwreck, which, based on local tales and the ship’s construction, he deduced had originated from Spain. He speculated that it had sailed around the southern tip of Africa. Fueled by curiosity, he decided to replicate the journey himself. After traveling overland to Spain, his first attempt was thwarted by difficulties along the Moroccan coast, forcing him to turn back. He tried again shortly thereafter, but this time he never returned. His journey marks the first recorded attempt to circumnavigate Africa, a feat not attempted again for over a millennium.
4. Peter Tessem And Paul Knutsen
In 1919, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was exploring the northern coast of Russia during an expedition when one of his crew members, Peter Tessem, began suffering from persistent headaches. Consequently, he was left at Cape Chelyuskin with Paul Knutsen, another explorer who was familiar with the area. Roald was confident they would make it to the nearby town of Dikson, a journey of just over a month. Knutsen knew the locations of supply caches, so the two men appeared to be in no danger.
However, by 1920, the two men had still not arrived in Dikson. The Norwegian government organized a search, but no trace of them was found. The Soviets launched their own search in 1921, discovering a Norwegian sled and a letter from the men, confirming they were in good health, but no further clues were uncovered.
In 1922, a Soviet research team accidentally stumbled upon the scientific equipment and data that had been entrusted to the men. Later, they found the body of one of the explorers. Though they couldn't identify it, the body was wearing a gold watch engraved with Tessem’s name. The body was found near Dikson and was eventually reburied further up the slope. A granite monument with Tessem’s name now marks the site.
3. USS Sea Gull
In August 1839, the United States Navy acquired a former New York pilot boat and renamed it the Sea Gull. Alongside the newly purchased Flying Fish, it was designated as part of the US Exploring Expedition's mission to map the Antarctic and Pacific. The journey faced a major setback when they reached the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn. Battling fierce winds, rough waters, and snow, the expedition was forced to wait for months before continuing in April 1840. Both the Flying Fish and Sea Gull were left behind to wait for the supply ship, which would enable them to catch up with the rest of the fleet.
However, the winds remained dangerously strong. On the night of April 28, the weather conditions worsened, and the Flying Fish and its crew returned to port to wait out the storm. They last saw the Sea Gull at midnight, but it did not follow them back to port. The Sea Gull was never seen again. To this day, the USS Sea Gull remains on the US Naval Institute’s list of ‘Missing and Presumed Lost’ vessels.
2. George Bass
George Bass was a surgeon and navigator who played a pivotal role in charting Australia's coastline. From 1795 to 1798, he sailed aboard the HMS Reliance, where he meticulously documented the plants and animals of Australia, confirmed the discovery of coal in Sydney, and identified the strait that separates New South Wales from Tasmania, which would later bear his name. His numerous contributions earned him membership in the Linnean Society of London in 1799, the world’s oldest society dedicated to natural history.
Despite his scientific accomplishments, Bass eventually shifted his focus to commercial shipping. In 1803, he was planning an expedition to cross from Australia to South America. In his final known letters, he mentioned an undisclosed venture, which was likely related to smuggling, as Britain and Spain were at odds during that period. He departed Australia in February 1803, but he was never heard from again. The theory that he was captured by Spanish authorities has been dismissed, as his name does not appear in Spanish or Peruvian records, and he was not among the British prisoners released years later. His disappearance remains a mystery.
1. The Corte-Real Brothers
Gaspar Corte-Real was part of a notable family of Portuguese explorers. His father is believed to have discovered what is likely North America in 1473, and by the time Gaspar came of age, he joined his brothers in the adventurous pursuit of exploration.
In 1500, King Manuel of Portugal dispatched Gaspar on an expedition to discover the Northwest Passage to Asia. At the time, North America was largely uncharted, and when Gaspar came across Greenland, he mistakenly identified it as Asia. Without landing, he turned back and assembled a larger crew for another attempt. This time, he brought two additional ships and his older brother, Miguel. They headed toward Greenland, but the ice-laden waters forced them to retreat south, likely making landfall in Newfoundland. There, they captured 57 natives, intending to sell them into slavery. Gaspar sent Miguel back to Portugal with two of the ships and their captives while he continued south alone. He was never heard from again.
A year later, Miguel returned to Newfoundland in search of his brother, but he too vanished. Despite their disappearances, the success of their voyages sparked significant interest in North America from the Portuguese government, which funded several subsequent expeditions to the waters around Newfoundland. However, these efforts were eventually thwarted by French and English settlers.
